After All
by Homicide Genius
Summary: A series of 'normal' cases Hanna and ... had together. Good times. Rated T for eventual swearing and gore.
1. In Which Smoothies Cure Sleep Disorders

No particular plot. I just found myself wondering what sort of things Hanna ran into on a 'normal' day. Some things might be dramatic, romantic, humorous or whatever. I just found an encyclopedia full of monsters and junk and wanted to write a small story for each of them...Just for future reference, each individual case'll probably be one or two chapters long. This'll probably have a hojillion chapters, and a few creatures might appear twice, but anyway, I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: Hanna is Not a Boy's Name belongs to Tessa Stone.

* * *

December 24, 20XX

The two had long since adjusted to sharing the small flat, both enjoyed the other's company. Hanna continued to work at Target, and occasionally with the company of his undead teddy bear he would walk to work, but usually he would leave his friend at the apartment they called home. The day was quiet without Hanna, and although the man enjoyed the redhead's company, it was a good chance to clean up and do what he wished for the day, which usually ended with him being bored by noon.

But on that particular day, Hanna had no work, and so the zombie had made Hanna oolong tea.

"Hey, thanks, Heathcliff."

Heathcliff, as he'd been dubbed, watched in content silence as Hanna reached for the jar of honey, spooning globs of it into his tea. Just when it seemed it was about to pour over the edge, Hanna set aside the jar and sipped peacefully at his tea. Heathcliff sat back in his chair and read through the newspapers.

"Yanno, Rambo, we need to find you a lady-friend."

A pause.

Rambo looked up from the obituaries and raised a brow at his friend.

"..._Really_?"

"Yeah, really. What kind of girl doya like?"

Yet another pause. The paper slumped in Rambo's hands as he considered, who would he spend his unlife with?

"Well, she would have to be confident. And cute. With a sense of humor..."

Rambo turned his gaze back to Hanna, as he'd been staring at the sink, and found his friend holding back a laugh. Rambo raised a brow and pulled his arms across his chest.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. I mean, I'm great and all, but I'd make a terrible wife, Andrew."

Hanna burst into laughter, letting it fill the entire apartment, and even Andrew felt the corners of his mouth turn slightly, even though Hanna was too busy crying tears of laughter to notice. A few snorts and fist-pounds later, Hanna had finally calmed down.

"Feeling better?"

"Yeah, thanks, Dom."

With only the 'aye-aye captain' salute to show he'd listened, Dom got up from his chair to clean up the kitchen. Hanna wiped his eye and sighed, clearly proud of himself. Then came the knocking at the door. Dom glanced down at Hanna, who shrugged.

"Not it."

* * *

"Uh...Hello?"

He was _asleep_. Dom was tempted to just leave the man there, with his head resting against the wall just outside the door. But he was too nice a guy. Dom tapped the man on the shoulder, who promptly snorted and woke up, clearly startled. The man had a simple appearance, his black hair neat but seemingly untouched. His eyes were sunken and there were dark circles around them, giving his hazel eyes the impression of simply being hollow and empty. He was dressed in faded in jeans and a black tee.

"Oh, ah, I apologize..." He paused to yawn. "My name is Michael. I thought you might be able to help me, Mr. Cross."

"I am not Mr. Cross, I am his business partner. Come in, Michael."

"Ah, thanks."

The man who addressed himself as Michael promptly sat upon the floor, his head resting against the wall. Hanna walked in the living area (or whatever you might call it) with his mug of oolong tea, or rather, his mug of honey. He seemed confused for a moment until he looked down to find the newest customer. He smiled widely at Michael and sat across from him.

"How may we be of service?"

"I get eight hours of sleep, and I wake up like _this_. I can't stay awake!"

Hanna and Dom exchanged doubtful looks, and this seemed to make Michael indignant.

"_Seriously_! I've been to _four _doctors, _three _specialists, and some nutritionist who gave me a _smoothie _recipe."

Silence followed this remark as Hanna finished off his tea. Michael coughed and cracked his knuckles, a sound that reverbrated off the thin apartment walls. Dom shifted his weight to the other leg. Hanna whistled before saying, "And a partridge in a pear tree."

Michael raised a brow and looked from Hanna to Dom with an annoyed look on his face.

"We'll take your case, Mike."

* * *

**Name**: Michael Levitt  
**Age**: Thirty-one  
**Male**  
**Complaint**: Sleep complaints - unable to stay asleep during the night, unable to stay awake during the day.

* * *

Michael left the apartment shortly afterward answering a few questions. Dom had written down some important information and was waiting on Hanna to get the Big-Book-o-Monsters out so they would talk about Michael's case. Hanna crawled out from a desk that was covered in papers and boxes, pulling behind him a book that was probably half his weight. Dom picked it up with ease and Hanna smirked and grabbed his notepad.

"He's being bothered during his sleep, too, so that means its a nuisance. Whaddyou think, Zac?"

"Or maybe it's nothing at all."

Hanna arched a brow and a smile grew on his face as he turned to get a better look at his friend. Zac simply stood from his chair and turned the book in his hands over.

"Couldn't it just be a sleeping disorder?"

"That four doctors, three specialists and a smoothie didn't catch? I don't think so."

Zac scratched his head and looked through the book as Hanna watched him intently.

"How about a Baku?"

Hanna hummed and nodded, writing it down in his notepad.

In that way they came up with several more ideas, including a Domovoi, a Popobawa and a Nightmare. Each would leave behind some distinct trace and Hanna would be able to recognize it immediately, and that would solve the case. The two called Michael and confirmed checking out his house later that day. Hanna was especially excited, because usually they just broke into their customer's houses.

It was a process.

Baby steps...

* * *

So Make Believe is pretty much on Hiatus or something. I like this idea much better, since there's a lot less pressure. I'm not gonna have some huge, diabolical plot each time, just something simple to go along with the case and some personal junk. Rest assured, Hanna will probably end up throwing up blood or with his face on the ground and his butt in the air...

Good times.

This particular case will probably be two chapters long, but you'll be able to tell by the chapter titles so things don't get messy.

Please review!


	2. In Which Smoothies Cure Sleep Disorders2

Hello again! Part two of Smoothies comin' right up!

Disclaimer: Hanna is Not a Boy's Names belongs to Tessa Stone.

* * *

"_So_, Carlisle, confident, cute and ...what was the third one?"

"Funny."

"Oh. Right."

The two walked down the thin winter sidewalks, avoiding patches of ice and strangers in the early afternoon. The city was a blank canvas of powdery snow, turning the world around it to a thousand shades of gray wherever it might fall. Even the ever-green trees seemed to be painted black. Carlisle enjoyed looking at it, the winter scenery, but didn't enjoy the snow in his shoes or all up and down his pant legs. Hanna, on the other hand, absolutely adored any weather, but he especially loved snow. When he wasn't trying to work, anyway.

"What about _her_, Amos?"

Hanna would call out every once in a while, pointing at a lady within his range of vision. Amos would follow the point of his mitten-ed finger to a woman, usually a very attractive one, but no one he was interested in right away. He nodded at the ones that looked at him suspiciously, silently apologizing for Hanna's pointing, though he did find it a little humorous that his friend would look for his soul mate in such a way. It was actually quite clever, considering anyone he would ever consider would have to be able to put up with Hanna. It was a quick and easy way to shoot down cute targets. Although...

"Mmm...Don't you think I should consider someone...Immortal, Hanna?"

Hanna paused an puffed out his cheeks. And Amos waited patiently, as he always would. Hanna couldn't walk and think hard because he would often run into things like lamposts and such.

"Ohhh. You mean you don't want to watch her slowly age and die...I wonder if they have _dating sites _for the undead..."

* * *

It took them a while to finally navigate their way into the bowels of the city, were even the snow was a darker shade with shadows of taller buildings cast upon it. A few homes were caved in, some where in simple disrepair, some looked quite nice but most were just eyesores with their chipping paint and broken windows. Like the chipped yellow teeth of the mouth. You know, the ones that're bumpy on top because there's no enamel and they cut up your gums all the time, but you love them just the same.

Finally they reached a white two story home, one that was used as an apartment building. Michael lived in 2B, the second room on the second floor. The trek there was less than enjoyable, because Hanna tried to be a 'backwards slinkie' up the steps and ended up somehow stubbing his toe, so that left Frank to carry him up the steps.

"Thanks, Murphy."

Hanna hopped down from Murphy's arms and knocked on the door. He didn't stop knocking, he just kept banging his fist against the thin wood at a steady beat, tapping his foot along too. He was knocking against air when Michael answered the door, obviously having just fallen asleep only to be brought back to consciousness.

"Hey-o, Mike. We're here to look for the...Thing."

"You mean you guys dunno what it is?"

"We have a...Good idea...Or two."

"Or eight." Murphy interjected. He couldn't help himself.

And so Hanna and Murphy looked through Michael's apartment, which was very easy, as he kept a clean home. The silence was broken by several attempts at a makeshift conversation, occasionally about how nice and clean it was, Murphy's soulmate search, or some other random thing they might have found. Until Michael brought up a question of his own.

"How old are you, anyway, Mr. Cross?"

"Ugh...I'm twenty-four."

Michael seemed a little dumbfounded, to Hanna and Murphy's un-suprise. Hanna's face fell into his usual grimace, which must have looked very serious to him, although to everyone else it just looked like he was pouting. Making grumpy faces was not Hanna's strongsuit, of course. At least, Michael seemed to think so, as he had to cough as he spoke to keep himself from laughing.

"Seriously? _Wow_."

Hanna puffed out his cheeks once more, this time in a show of frustration instead of concentration. But all that faded into a blank stare. Hanna straightened his back, and looked around the room as though he were lost.

"Hanna?"

"Imhotep, do you see a broom anywhere?"

"Uh...No?"

Hanna turned back to Michael and dusted off his pants, a triumphant look about his face. When no one spoke, he looked from Imhotep to Michael, clearly dishearted.

"_That's _the problem. Or at least, it will _probably _solve your problem. I know what you're thinking, how can a broom _possibly _help -"

"_Look_, I won't pay you until you're sure this is fixed, I don't care if I have to buy a _mop_."

Hanna glanced at Imhotep before running his hand through his already messy red hair. He fidgeted for a moment before glancing at Michael, who raised his brows, waiting for the solution to his sleep issue.

"Look, the only way we can know for sure what's bugging you is to spend the night."

"Okay. _Whatever_."

* * *

While Hanna had no problem with staying all night in a stranger's home, Imhotep had a problem with him having no problem, especially since Hanna would be the guinea pig, since zombies couldn't sleep. He was, of course, against Hanna being put in danger. But Hanna protested any other idea, and even Michael agreed with using him as a 'test pilot' as he called it. Michael left for work, telling them he hoped hey had the case solved when he came back.

"Are you sure about this, Hanna?"

"I'm sure, Victor. Just _chillax_."

An hour passed him by before Hanna had fallen asleep. He lay on his back on Michael's couch, his mouth popping and clicking whenever he moved his tongue or took a deep breath. Victor kept his friend under close surveillance as he wandered through the two spacious rooms, checking every crevice and shadow for the source of the customer's problem. On the eighth trip, when he found nothing, he shuffled quietly back into the kitchen, wondering if he should wake Hanna up. That's when he heard _that _sound. It was like tiny shrieks, only they were...backwards. It was as though someone recorded a woman and man screaming in prefect unison, then turned down the volume and played it backwards.

It looked like a red shadow. And it was dripping smoke. And it was getting closer to Hanna.

The second Victor stepped forward, it split into two human-shaped red shadows. One continued to slowly scream it's way towards Hanna, wrapping smoking wiry fingers around his face...And the second stood in front of Victor, ready to fight.

Before he could so much as call out his friend's name to wake him, the second shadow was wrapping it's long fingers around his own neck.

_"Your skin is ripped...Dawn is coming, your skin is ripped...The dawn, the dawn..."_

Each word was its own individual shriek, and no matter how many fists Victor threw, it seemed pained but it did not loosen its grip. He kept his eyes on Hanna, though, as he fought the red shadow's grip. As second the shadow positioned itself over Hanna's face, as if about to kiss him, he woke up with a start. But he didn't move. He cast a glance at his friend, who was struggling, and waited. He squinted, determined.

He waited until the Boo Hag had its mouth open to reach in, with remarkable speed that no one could have thought he posessed. He grasped onto what appeared to be the Hag's tounge before he tugged his arm back with all the strength he could muster. The Hag let out a deafening hissing screech before it fizzled into the air, until it was nothing more than smoke.

**-{...}-**

"Timmy! Hey - can you hear me! Are you okay?"

Red smoke faded from around Timmy as he regained consciousness, just about as tired as he'd ever remembered feeling. He couldn't even will his arm to move, and it took all his strength to talk back to Hanna.

"Hanna? _Ah_..."

He couldn't make his arm move because it wasn't _there_.

Or his leg.

A simple glance said it all. Before his eyes rolled upward, he saw his friend's panic.

"I'll get you to Worth! It'll be okay Sinbad, it'll be..."

...

It hurt so bad, Hanna.

* * *

Annnnd...

I lied. First case'll take three chapters, even though it's techincally solved...Right?

**WELL **at least Michael didn't lose any limbs, _right_?

Right.

Review!


	3. In Which Smoothies Cure Sleep Disorders3

_And She fights for her life,_

"Hanna?"

He could move again, there was that. It seemed the pain was numbed, but he felt so horribly exhausted.

There was whispering all around him, but even though he looked around him, he only met his own gaze, repeated endlessly by walls upon walls of mirrors. Even the floor he sat on was a mirror, staring blankly back at him.

But among the whispers, he could hear other voices.

_As she puts on her coat,_

The sounds repeated endlessly in his mind, just like his doppelganger did. He could see himself wherever he looked, and it was just a little unnerving.

To say the least.

His face was pale, and with every flick of his gaze he was tormented by hope, thinking for only a second that maybe he saw Hanna, but when the black hair caught his eyes, his heart sank a little farther.

_And She goes..._

It felt like hours.

He could hardly stand it. To stop looking at him self, he closed his eyes, but that left him focusing on the music, which wasn't much better. He tried punching the mirrors, tried shattering one, but that only made the music louder, which angered Sinbad.

He decided to just lay on his side and pull his one leg to his chest. He kept his thoughts on Hanna, but every time he seemed to feel better, the music would interrupt him.

"Hanna!"

_Nobody knows_...

* * *

Hanna left a note for Mike, a bill (a big one, considering how he'd have to pay Worth), about the Boo Hag, what it did, and how to stop it. Then he had to figure out how to carry Daniel.

It's not that he was so big, it's that Hanna was so small. He actually dropped his leg, which had been ripped off at the knee. When Hanna finally reached the end of the stairs, he'd had enough of manually carrying his friend. It would be a long run to Worth's, but it was better than nothing. He pulled out his magic marker, and soon his friend's limbs were levitating behind him. Hanna had to take the back alleys so no one would see him, but it turned out that was actually a much faster way to get to Worth.

{**...**}

"Hanna? What're yeh doing? Isn't yer zombie friend usually the one that carries ya everywhere?"

Hanna was out of breath, and the rune was getting to him. He slumped over in Worth's doorway, unable to hold Gary up anymore. He grinned up at Worth, who rolled his eyes and took a hit off his cigarette before heaving the undead man onto an unoccupied 'examining' table and helping Hanna into a chair. The kid was asleep just after he'd finished talking.

"The Boo Hag got Roberto."

Worth heaved a tremendous sigh after throwing a paper-thin blanket over Hanna's quivering shoulders. They'd obviously had a rough case, but Worth didn't know if he was a nice enough guy to let them stay the night. Eh, at least he'd get a rune out of it...He approached the zombie, who appeared to be comatose. His eyes were wide open and his mouth was agape, but there was no way to tell if he was really...Well, _there_. Zombies didn't breathe...

Worth went ahead and stitched the arm and leg back on, and shoveled through his medical bag for a vial of something new he'd just started getting from Lamont. He didn't know what it was called, and he didn't much care. All he knew was that if it was used right, it wakened the senses, and if you were lucky, could animate someone in a coma. It couldn't bring back the dead, as Worth didn't have the equipment for that (and he never would) but it was a surefire message that if this didn't work, nothing would.

{...}

The blonde doctor loomed over the dead man like a vulture, waiting for any signs of conciousness to show themselves. He pulled out a tiny little pocket flashlight and pulled the dim, flickering light over the zombie's eyes. First try, no response. Second try, no response.

Third try -

Things were a little fast for the doctor's taste, fast enough to make him curse, but at least Hanna would be happy.

In three seconds flat, the zombie woke up faster than Rip Van Winkle and grabbed the doctor's wrist, causing him to drop the flashlight and let out a colorful stream of obsinities. Not that the dead man cared, in fact, he only smiled shakily.

"Hanna..."

"Yeah, yeah, zombie. Yer bud's here. Mind tellin' me what the hell ya two were up to?"

"Just another day at the office...How is he?"

Worth rolled his eyes and pulled out an unlit cig. "He'll live."

{**...**}

And so would Mike. He bought several brooms, which turned out to be the cure. The shadowy figure would crawl out of the space underneath the stove every night, (or during the day since Mike kept thick sheets over his windows) and would be distracted by the brooms he'd bought. Boo Hags were obsessed with knowing. They would count the bristles on the broom, sometimes twice, because they could not stand not knowing how many there were. It would count all twelve brooms, every single night.

And sometimes the mop he'd bought.

Just for good measure.

* * *

**Case : Levitt**

**Job Well Done**

**

* * *

**

Case one is done!

I used Oren Lavie lyrics because apparently that's what Gallahad sounds like. I couldn't resist.

In one day, I don't even know!

Stay tuned, everyone.


	4. Smoothies : Aftermath

"Hanna, yeh need teh go home and sleep."

He could have left, and he knew Josh would have wanted it that way, but he refused to leave his friend's side. Hanna had a chair pulled up next to the table and watched him, just as Jay would have watched Hanna if he'd been attacked by a Hag. They could only be glad she didn't get his skin. Boo Hags were terrible creatures that would attack their victims in their sleep, usually just for energy. But if one struggled, like Augustus did, they were likely to have their skin stripped from them and the Hag would wear it like some cheap coat. While Hanna had never heard of a zombie's skin being taken, because of the damage it often undergoes, he knew that if hadn't stopped it when he had, Clyde would have lost a lot more than an arm and a leg.

Worth grumbled and went into the back room, presumably to get some sleep, which was confirmed twenty minutes later when Hanna could hear the doctor snoring. He could have been faking it, but Worth already knew everything, and Hanna knew he didn't like re-runs, so what did it matter? It was Christmas eve, wasn't it?

"I'm _so _sorry, Rollo..."

He said it every time he could talk. He couldn't help but feel guilty - it was his idea to stay at Mike's, even though Rollo wanted to go home! Hanna had to make it better. And he would, but he couldn't let Rollo know what he was doing. He'd probably protest. Hanna was so busy planning that he nearly fell out of his chair when his friend coughed.

"Rollo? _Really_?"

Hanna's smile grew in five seconds flat.

"I panicked."

* * *

{December 25, 20XX}

Rollo couldn't have gone back to the apartment, under Worth's orders, and Hanna wouldn't leave without his zombie.

So Christmas morning was spent at Worth's.

Hanna reached into his pocket and pulled out some colored squares of paper. He quickly folded one with ease into a little origami crane and handed it to Faust, who took the tiny orange bird with a surprised look on his face. Since his throat had dried out completely, it took him a minute to be able to speak, but he got the hang of it, sure enough.

"Can I have a piece of paper, Hanna?"

Hanna looked up from his exhausted worry and smiled shakily, holding out a piece of pink paper. "Sure thing, Othello."

The zombie's fingers slipped over the paper, but with some experience. Soon there, on his palm, sat a little pink crane. He passed it to Hanna with a small smile. The redhead picked up the crane by its wing, which was so carefully folded for him. Hanna smiled a little, and tried to say 'Thanks,' but nothing came out. Jake got the message.

"Merry Christmas, Hanna."

"Merry Christmas, Tristan."

* * *

A little Christmas short for y'all!

I'd write more, but I'm going to get started on their new case!  
The search for Gallahad's soul mate continues!


	5. New Song : One

**New Case!**

**In Which There is a New Song  
**With Gallahad's recovery comes the search for his soul mate and a new case. The two meet a new friend, but she's not quite what they were hoping for...

**Disclaimer**: Hanna is Not a Boy's Name belong to Tessa Stone.

* * *

{**December 26, 20XX**}

If it weren't for Tristan's watch, they probably wouldn't have known they missed Christmas. But Hanna was okay with that, since Tristan was almost completely better. He was sore, but he was sitting up and talking, which made Hanna happy. They talked for hours about trivial things, about Santa's existence and cookies and sugarplum visions and Conman and even Tristan's soulmate search. Worth came out with a bottle of vodka, and although Tristan didn't have any, Worth and Hanna drank a little. But in the middle of their fun, Worth's door slowly creaked open, and tiny wiry fingers wrapped around it to quietly ensure that it closed without startling anyone. It was a cloaked figure wearing the tragedia mask. Yanno, like comedy and tragedy?

"_Mi scusi _- Are you not Dr. Worth? Signore Toucey said you could help me."

It was clear she was a woman, even though her voice was hoarse.

Worth looked his customer up and down suspiciously and flicked his lighter on and off. "I refuse teh help people in masks, Peaches."

"Please, doctor, I only need a few things...I can pay you?"

At that, Doc was on his feet in front of the woman, holding out his hands like the trick-or-treater he was. The Italian woman's smile was visible through the mouth hole in her mask as she pulled out a huge wad of cash for Worth, who greedily thumbed through the stack of tens.

"Ah, I need a black animal, a cigarette, a knife and some vodka..."

Worth clicked his tongue in response, clearly too busy counting money to speak. Stuffing the money in his pocket, he exchanged it for a cigarette and set it in the woman's palm. He winked before going into the back room for the other ingredients. Hanna looked her up and down suspiciously, but he was too busy drinking to say anything. Tristan, on the other hand, was mesmerized. He was suddenly curious, wanting to know who was behind the mask. If it wasn't for Worth coming back in, he probably would have gotten up off the floor to take it off himself.

"_Grazie_." She muttered when Worth threw a Wal-Mart sack containing a dead black animal, and as he grabbed the vodka bottle from Hanna and took another drink of it before handing it to the woman, who smiled again at Worth. Tristan was on his feet, just as she turned to leave. "Hey! Wait!"

She didn't hear him, so he followed. He turned back to Hanna, and pulled him forward. "We have to follow her, Hanna."

"Wuh-Wait! Duke, she could be dangerous!"

But he was already out the door, pulling Hanna with him. The redhead glanced back at his doctor, who was too busy looking for more vodka to care much. Good ol' Worth.

* * *

_It almost sounds like music, _Hanna thought to himself as he ran with Duke. They were racing towards the park, and the closer they got, the more fragments of music his ears caught. It was simple and sweet, like honey. The woman they were chasing was clearly singing, Hanna realized as they weeded their way through the patches of powdery snow and overgrown grass at the park. Luckily there was a shoveled out path, so Duke could follow without getting wet.

When finally they stopped, Hanna and Duke ducked behind three trash barrels to watch the woman. There was a large pond in front of her, and as she continued to sing, she pulled from the sidelines a case and the sack of goodies Worth had given to her. From beneath the water appeared a man, and Hanna's eyes widened. A Fossegrim?

Yes, it was a Fossegrim, because he was clearly overjoyed to recieve the woman's presents. The presents you would give a Fossegrim to teach you his enchanted song.

"Hanna - what is that?"

"It's a Fossegrim. They're water spirits that drown people, but if you give them gifts, they'll teach you an enchanted song on the violin...That must be why she wanted Worth's stuff...Rick, we need to get out of here."

"Hang on...I want to hear her play."

The woman pulled out an aged violin and waited for the Fossegrim to in turn take out his own. The handsome water spirit took his place beside the woman, and somehow, as if by magic, they both pulled the bow across the strings in perfect unison, creating the most beautiful sound anyone had ever heard in person. The woman would hum loudly every once in a while, and would be joined by the Fossegrim, who was quite active while he bowed.

"_Hector _- hey! _What're you doing_!"

Hector was standing, above the garbage barrels, walking towards the woman. Both the she and the Fossegrim stopped playing abruptly and turned to meet his orange gaze as the snow crunched under his feet. His expression saddened and he looked from the woman to the creature and back.

"Don't stop -"

The Fossegrim hissed at his voice, and dropped its instrument. It's face contorted hideously, and it bent its knees a little, looking reminiscent to a cat about to pounce. Its eyes were locked on Hector, who took a step back. The woman dropped her instrument and then tthings got fast. Before the Fossegrim pounced, the woman dashed forward, and as she ran past the undead man, she grabbed his wrist and just _ran_. As they passed Hanna, he grabbed onto her cloak, and they were off. The Fossegrim couldn't very well leave the water, but the hissing seemed to follow them until they were on the opposite sidewalk.

"Who...Are you?"

"I am Sara."

* * *

New case yay! Sort of - they're not being paid this time.

But Worth is!

I hope you all had a great Christmas.

Review!


	6. New Song : Two

Everyone but Rick, who didn't breathe, panted to catch their breath after Sara introduced herself. It wasn't until she looked up at Rick did he notice he was holding her wrist. He quickly let go, but he was too late. Hanna had already seen.

"Oooh! Beethoven, I think we found her!"

Sara looked from Hanna to the zombie, clearly confused.

"Hey, Sara! Do you need a place to stay? Maybe you get to know my friend here a little better! Huh?"

Beethoven raised an eyebrow at his friend, who was nudging at him with his elbow, a dumb smirk on his face. Sara rolled her eyes and nodded, but Beethoven could see a smile. Hanna squealed and grabbed both Beethoven and Sara's wrists, pulling them to the apartments. When finally they reached #306, Sara stepped over some trash and quietly sat down on the floor, legs cross, and lowered her hood so as to pull off her black cloak, but she didn't remove her mask. Under the cloak she wore a black, light blue and gray argyle sweater and gray pants. Not at all what anyone was expecting.

"Why do you wear that thing, anyways, Sara?" Hanna asked, pointing a thin finger at her white mask.

The black haired woman shrugged. "I just woke up with it on."

"Must've been hard to fall asleep..." Beethoven commented dryly.

{...}

Jake, as he was newly adressed, was making hot cocoa at the request of Sara, who didn't like marshmallows, and Hanna, who loved marshmallows. He could hear them talking from the kitchen, and listened intently.

"So...Why were you looking for the Fossegrim, if you don't mind me asking?"

A pause. "We know you wanted its song, but why? For its magical properties or just to learn it?"

Jake could hear to clear her throat before she spoke, in something hardly above a harsh whisper, "I heard the song could repair memories."

Another pause.

"...You forgot something?"

Jake spooned marshmallow cream into Hanna's mug as Sara coughed again before she answered. "No, _someone_. I can't remember my daughter."

"What if we helped you, Sara?" It was Jake, who had walked into the living area. He spoke with more emotion in his voice than usual, and he thought it sounded like hope, but he couldn't be sure. A smile flickered on Hanna's face as Jake passed him his mug. Sara looked up, her eyes wide.

"You would do that for me?"

"Yes, of course." Hanna said boredly, rolling his eyes and letting a grin grow on his face. "Free of charge, I think."

Sara's frail hand reached towards her face, and she pulled off her mask. There were scars on her cheeks, and her face was sunken and pale. But her smile made sunshine radiate from her features. "_Grazie_."

"No problemo." Hanna said quietly, obviously suprised by the scars. "Do you know her name?"

"Vanessa."

{...}

Hanna and Tyler tried for hours to jog Sara's memory, but she only recalled three things - her daughter's name, the tune she used to hum, and how she always smiled.

"It's not enough info to go searching, but there is another way to recall memories...You could sleep, and one of us could go with you."

"No." Sara shuddered. "I will not have that dream again. It is a nightmare."

Hanna and Josh exchanged worried glances. "What kind of nightmare?"

"I am in a hallway...And it is full of mirrors...And I can always hear her humming."

Josh's eyebrows jumped sky-high, the closest thing to an expression he'd come to for quite some time. "I have had a dream like that."

Both Hanna and Sara jumped when Josh spoke and turned to look at him expectantly. He cast his gaze towards Hanna. "Remember after the Hag? I was sleeping, and I remember being in a room shaped like a gazebo...There wasn't a door, there were only mirrors. And I could hear someone singing...It was very unnerving."

Hanna scratched at his chin before speaking again, "I don't like the sound of this. I've heard of paranormal diseases before that affect people's dreams, but if Daniel caught it, I probably would have, too...But if you two shared the dream, maybe I could steer you into remembering Vanessa, but then Hans would be there too. Are you two okay with that...?"

They nodded simultaneously.

{...}

"I'll have to knock you out, Larry, since you don't sleep."

"You've called me Larry before, Hanna."

The redhead chuckled as he finished mixing something in a red mug. "Reduce, Re-use, Recycle. Be green, Leo."

Hanna held out the mug for Larry, a worried look on his face. The red mug was full of black, soupy coffee-grounds sort of stuff, but Larry downed it in three or four gulps, no problem. He was too tired to taste it.

"Be careful, Leonidas."


	7. New Song : Three

Sleep was strange. Leonidas couldn't exactly know for sure if he was really sleeping, but fading into his own mind sure made the whole deal a lot more convincing. He was back in the mirrored room, though there were things in it now. Trash was everywhere - simple cardboard boxes and crumpled pieces of paper were crowding the glass walls, and it was up to his knees. It was also colder, and when Leonidas looked down at his hands, he realized they were _tanner_, as in human. He was human again? He shivered to the cold and looked up, where a small beacon of light poured through a crack in the mirror. His door in a windowless room.

"Sir?"

Startled but not outwardly showing it, Leonidas quickly turned around to see Sara, who only looked a little younger under the dream's affects. "What's that around your neck, sir?"

Leonidas looked to the left, at the closest mirror, and saw around his human neck a purple ribbon. He pulled it off and held it out between the two. "What does it mean?"

"Vanessa...Tied her hair in purple ribbons..."

_'Way to go, Amadeus, you're jogging her memory!' _It was Hanna, but Sara didn't seem to hear him as she ran her thumb over the ribbon. '_She can't hear me, she's got some protective spell on her that keeps me from helping - ask her more questions so she remembers Vanessa!'_

Hanna sounded eager, even cautious, probably just ready to have Amadeus back. He couldn't exactly blame him - it was a very unnerving place to be. Mostly because Amadeus was still so foreign to himself was he so awkward within his own mind - or was it shared with Sara? It was hard for him to tell, but one thing he did notice was that she wasn't reflected in the mirrors. Was she even seeing what he did?

"Did she like the color purple, Sara?"

"I think so..." The woman frowned in thought and stared at the purple ribbon, but her eyes weren't really _seeing _it. "I think she liked a lot of colors, actually." She ran her hand through her hair absent-mindedly before smiling up at Amadeus, as though they were sharing a simple moment instead of a complex dream.

"She didn't have one favorite color?" After a moment of thought, Amadeus thought of Hanna, who had several favorite colors. "Or were all the colors her favorite color?" Hanna would always drink out of a different mug every day, depending on how he felt. Amadeus found it entertaining and creative. Sara's smile grew in size, suppressing the scars on her face. It made Amadeus wonder how they got there, or if they had anything to do with Vanessa.

"Now I remember! Every day of the week, Vanessa would wear different color clothes!"

"What colors did she pick, Sara?"

"Well, Monday was yellow, Tuesday was blue, Wednesday was green, Thursday was purple, Friday was red, Saturday was silver and Sunday was..." Sara paused, as if the thought suddenly escaped her. Her smile almost fell, when it twitched back to life again and her eyes lit up. "Sunday was wild-card. That's when she picked any color she wanted."

{...}

Colors, stuffed animals, games, favorite foods, best memories, and finally appearance. Nigel worked through each, sometimes with questions and comments from Hanna, until they finally reached appearance. That's when Sara's memory became darker and darker, and the music began to play in the backround. Nigel shuddered when he realized Hanna was commenting less and less. Sara's wandering about her daughter seemed to fade into silence, although Nigel could see her mouth moving as she recounted a story about Vanessa.

But still noise crept through his head, banging around in senseless blurs, until a few things became recognizable. It was all music, tunes he had heard in waiting rooms and lobbies, songs he heard in cars and friends' homes. Words and tiny sounds put together to make a song, one big song that was nothing but meaningless chaos. In wake of that dazzling noise, it seemed, even the colors began to fade around the corners of Nigel's eyes.

'_Immanuel! You need to get out of there - I've already gotten Sara, but you've got to hurry!'_

"How! All I see is a tiny crack!"

Nothing...And why was Sara still there if Hanna had already gotten her out? She looked like a statue, in that she didn't move or make a sound.

Deciding to trust Hanna, the zombie jumped up as high as he could. His fingers only just scraped against the hole in the wall of mirrors, but he jumped again and again, watching in horror as his arms slowly became greener and greener, and below him as the floor became more and more littered with trash, as though it was rising. He stepped onto a thick pile of it and threw thick pieces of clutter at the crack, causing it to be more of a jagged window. Immanuel gulped as he jumped, knowing that his hand would be met with sharp bits of glass, but he still clung on, despite the pain. He was forcing himself through the window, and into the blinding light. He closed his eyes tight as the glass tore at his back and his bare feet, but he made it.

The next thing he knew, he was wide awake on the floor he'd fallen asleep on. Hanna and Sara were hunched over him in worry, but Immanuel sighed in relief.

"Eli, you're _all cut up_! What _happened _in there? Are you okay? What did you find out? _Whoa _- okay, you're _not _okay."

Although he couldn't see it, there were chunks of flesh missing from Eli's gut, back, and legs. Sara let out a hoarse scream.

* * *

Awright! New Song's just about done.

But don't worry - this isn't the last you'll see of Sara.

**IAmJudgingYou: **Thanks for being my first review! And thanks for being positive, it really made my day. I hope you enjoy the rest!


	8. New Song : Four

"Sara - go get Worth. _Please_."

The woman hesitated, but after passing a glance down at the pained zombie, she bolted from the room with a harsh nod. Eli tried to speak, but his voice was a hoarse croak, putting his throat through more pain than he would have thought was worth speaking. Hanna seemed scared absolutely shitless, which didn't make him feel any better, because it was obvious that the man was trying to hide it. He had to think about something else - he couldn't bear to see Hanna that way...About the dream. He had a tendency to forget things, wouldn't it be a good idea to review everything so they could help Sara remember?

He ran through the things he remembered about Vanessa again - brown hair, blue eyes, missing a pinky, likes to dress up, short, doesn't like eating, colorcodes her wardrobe. But whenever he pictured Vanessa, she appeared so easily that it made Eli wonder...Had he met her before? Yes - he had to have seen her before. He quickly became frustrate with trying to place her mental image. He grabbed Hanna's arm and stared directly at the man. It took him a few tries to speak, but hey, better late than never.

"Hanna - you need to send me back - I ah, think I know Va-Vanessa."

"_No way_, Chuck!" Hanna tried to tug his arm back, to no avail. "You almost _re-died_!"

"Please - it's important..."

"_Ah_! You're hurting me, man...!"

Chuck dropped Hanna's arm and ran his hand over his tired face. "I'm sorry, Hanna."

Hanna attempted a chuckle. "...Well - your emotions are developing, so I guess that's good...Does it hurt?"

"What? Oh," Chuck had finally gotten back to talking normal. He was shaking though, overcome with the realization that he'd just _hurt _Hanna. "Not terribly."

Hanna smiled and got up, and Chuck almost asked him to stay, but decided against it. That's when Hanna exclaimed again. "Sara's coming back - wow that was _quick_! I don't see Worth though..._Oh_, there he is."

{...}

"Yer all a buncha _idiots_. If he was human, he'd be dead by now. Luckily though, ya got ol' Worth ta help yeh out."

"Yeah, we know Worth," Hanna started impatiently, racing back to the mattress to be at his friend's side. "Work now, praise later."

"Suit yerself."

Hanna had to move a little, so the doctor could operate, but he refused to leave his friend's side, which let Kane rest easy. The doctor put medicines and bandages over Kane's wounds, some would make him shiver as though he were dumped into cold water, and others would make him cry out in pain. But when Worth stood to receive his pay, all pain had receded, and Kane actually dared to sit up.

"You - I need ta talk with yeh."

At first, Hanna shifted to get up, but everyone raised a brow when they realized Worth was pointing at Sara, who followed the doctor with hesitation. They stood outside in the hallway and talked, but their voices were too muffled to catch anything other than a few words. When Sara came back in the room, she brought with her a cloud of smoke, indicating Worth had lit up while they were talking. She stared at Kane, and Hanna looked from one to the other.

"_Mi dispiace che..._Oh, sorry, habit...I mean - I'm sorry I got you hurt, sir."

Kane waved away her apology. "It's fine. I've been through worse. Besides - I remembered things about Vanessa, so we can get started on trying to find her."

{...}

Hanna dashed to a closet to get a large poster sheet which he tacked to the wall with some help. "It always helps to write everything down."

So with magic marker in hand, Hanna quickly wrote down everything Kane and Sara remembered, down to the letter. They only filled up half the poster, but he said they'd just use it for the next case so it didn't go to waste.

"So about the dream..." Hanna began, but Sara interrupted him with a cough. Both Kane and Hanna looked at her.

"Why did we even need the dream in the first place?"

"_Finally_." Hanna said dramatically. "I was hoping you'd ask that, Sara. Brett wouldn't ever question anything I asked him to do...The dream jogged your memory. REM sleep is good for that sorta stuff."

Everyone turned back to the poster board, and that's when the thoughts stumbled back into Brett's head. He would have jumped, but Hanna ordered him to sit in an old lawn chair they had.

"Do you know what day of the week Vanessa disappeared?"

"Ah...Tuesday, I believe."

-x-

"_Here, mister, you need this more than I do!"_

_-x-_

It was a flashback, lasting only a second long, the time it took him to blink it away. Despite Hanna's quiet grumbling, Brett got to his feet and circled 'Tuesday' on the chart, which had been written in blue.

"Tuesday was blue day...Did Vanessa dress up for it?"

"I think so..." Sara looked at the ground and she strained to remember. "I cannot recall what she wore, though."

The zombie nearly dropped the marker. He held up an index finger gesturing 'Hold that thought,' and left the room for a second, into the closet he and Hanna kept their trash in. He pulled out a large, long blue scarf and held it out for Sara to see. It was the same scarf he'd worn when he met Hanna.

"Does _this _give you a clue?"

* * *

Ohohoho plot twist.

Actually, if I _had _to pick a favorite pairing, it would be Gallahad/Scarf.

Review!


	9. New Song : Five

Sara only stared at the blue scarf in disbelief. Scott couldn't help but smile to the silence.

"Wh-where did you get this!"

Scott handed it to her, so she could examine what might have been the key to the 'case'. He owed her as much.

"A girl gave it to me one night. I think it was raining, or something..."

"Vanessa..."

"Uh, Sara..." Hanna stepped up, a cautious look on his face, definately something foreign. "We don't know for sure if Dino got that from Vanessa..."

There was a short pause, the time it took Sara to stop shaking, look up at Hanna, and smile widely, contorting the twisted scars on her face. She held out the scarf, and it became untangled with a jerk or two, revealing a tag sewn into the blue material. Sara ran her hand over it while Hanna and Dino leaned in to get a closer look. In scrawly handwriting a child had written, "Vanessa and Sara!". There was something else on that tag that caught Hanna's eye, apparently. It was a tiny little mark in the corner, written in red.

"Is that a protection rune? How does she know that?"

Sara only shrugged. Hanna paused for a moment, standing so still Dino could have sworn it was a new record.

"Only a few paranormal creatures can operate runes, much less write and understand them. One is deities, the other are Gargoyles, Imaginary Friends, and Witches and Hags." Hanna looked back up at Sara, an epiphany lighting up his face. "I need you to answer a few questions, Sara..."

The woman only nodded.

{...}

"Has she ever said any wierd-o chants in some language you'd never heard before?"

Sara shoveled through shattered memories, her head in her hands. "No."

Hanna lightened up a bit. "Good! That's how you summon a Deity, because they don't usually eat kids. They hardly ever come out of hiding, and when they do, they want the meal to last them a while. Uh...Did you guys keep a clean home?"

"Yes. I was very hard on her to keep her room staightened up..."

"Also good - it means you kept brooms around, which would have distracted a Hag. Did she ever talk to someone that wasn't there?"

"No."

"Okay..." Hanna's expression fell slightly. Dino assumed that crossed out Friends, leaving them with Witches and Gargoyles. "Have any of your family members ever died?"

"Of course."

"Was Vanessa there to see?"

"Two separate days...The days my brother and sister died of cancer."

"Well - " Hanna spun around and circled 'Gargoyles' with his thick, black marker. He stepped back and sighed. "She's alive. I can gaurentee you that, but...I dunno if she's _okay_."

Everyone stared at Hanna imploringly until the redhead realized that was his cue to elaborate. "Well, a gargoyle doesn't eat people too often and someone wrote a protection rune on that scarf - they were either trying to protect her or Icarus, but I think he would have noticed a huge, gray winged creature writing on his scarf. I think I might know where she is, too...There's this place in town where all the Gargoyles flock, it's an abandoned house and they tend to keep human 'pets', so she's _definately _alive."

{...}

After Sara jumped from her chair elated, knocking it to the floor, everyone decided that would be a good time to run to the Gothic-Victorian house Hanna said probably had Vanessa in it. Icarus had to limp slightly, because his entire left leg was numb, but he kept up well. Sara led the group after Hanna gave her the adress. Finally they stopped, five blocks away from the apartments, in front of the most old and ruined home any of them had ever seen.

#131 of West Way Drive seemed to stick out like a broken tooth on the block, the homes around it in good states, whereas that one sat in terrible disrepair. The entire left porch had caved in on itself, most of the windows were shattered or boarded, and the home could use a coat of paint. But that didn't deter Hanna and Icarus as they pushed the creaky, reluctant door to the side and peeked in.


	10. New Song : End

"You sure about this, Hanna?"

"Just about as sure as I ever am, Nick."

The two stepped inside cautiously, Nick glancing at Sara, who stood outside, clutching her daughter's blue scarf. They'd ordered her to stay outside, just because they weren't sure how bad Vanessa would be, or if she would even be there. Nick had his doubts, but Hanna was confident. Hanna paused to write a rune to light their way, showing the two the ruins of a once proud home. They stumbled around the rubble in awe, looking at unbroken trinkets and shattered remains of things once loved. Nick was first to speak up.

"What happened...?"

Hanna didn't answer. Instead, he motioned for Nick to 'C'mere'. Hanna was staring at a picture frame before him, at the family inside it. There was a woman with long blonde hair, a man with clean black hair, and a girl with her mother's face and her father's hair and build. Hanna was staring at the father in the picture, nearly slackjawed. Nick had to nudge him slightly to bring him back down to earth.

"That man - he was on the news...I remember seeing it as a kid. Oh, shit, it was terrible...Like, half his face was missing..."

Hanna shuddered and continued whispering of the man, apparently to himself. Nick nudged him again, and the manchild jumped nearly five feet into the air with a shout. The two stood in the paralyzed silence, realizing what they'd done would probably have notified anyone of their being there. With a last glance back at the picture, Hanna grabbed Nick's sleeve and pulled him upward, towards the stairs. The zombie only followed, of course, too trusting to ask questions.

"The man that lived here, Nathaniel, was brutally murdered in his own home. No one knows who did it to him, unless they saw pictures and new about the paranormal. A gargoyle did it. They enjoy making their victims...Well, hurt, but they're usually a very gentle race. Unless you piss them off...I think this house belonged to a gargoyle, and Nathaniel tried to renovate or something..."

When they reached the top of the stairs, Nick realized with a pang of fear - yes, fear - that Hanna was in front. He did it on purpose, and why, Nick suddenly found out. Just feet in front of them stood a silhoutted figure, holding his hands behind his back, tilting his head to the side. Hanna hesitated for a moment before flashing the light in his direction. The man (if he was one) shuddered, but otherwise did not move. He was Nathaniel - Nick knew it right away. Only his right side was visible to Hanna and Nick, however, but if Nick looked hard enough, he could see from the right the tearing from the left. When Nathaniel saw who his visitors were, he turned and held both of his arms out, his smile like poison. His face became surreal in the light, the shadow cast from the angle covering most of his exposed flesh.

"Why hello, Hanna. Is this a new friend?"

Hanna shuffled his feet nervously. "Yes, but I need to ask you something, Nathaniel. Do you have anyone with you?"

"My, he seems to be perfectly preserved...I wonder if you'd let me dissect him?" Nick took a step back, half his foot then hanging over the edge of the top step. It was like being cornered in one of those movies. Hanna lifted up his arm, creating a barrier between Nathaniel and Nick. Nathaniel straightened his back and turned his full attention to Hanna. "You never were a patient one...Just like your mother..."

"Yeah, yeah, do you have anyone with you?"

"You mean, a friend? Why, Hanna, are you running out again?"

"Yeah, can you show me what you've got?"

A horrid, ugly grin twisted itself onto Nathaniel's features, and he waved for Hanna to follow.

{...}

"Boy or girl?"

"Girl. Young. Black hair."

Nathaniel cast a sideways glance at Hanna, but lead the way nevertheless. They stopped at the end of a long corridor, and Nathaniel opened the door and stepped aside for them. The entire house seemed like a hopeless, dim maze, but the room Hanna and Nick stepped into was full of light, and it was warm. The door shut behind them with a click, but only Nick looked back in suprise when it did. How did Hanna know what to do?

"Vanessa?"

A girl crawled out from under the bed and yawned, as if they'd interrupted her nap. She looked at Hanna blankly, then cast her glance to Nick, and her face burst into a gigantic smile.

"I knew you'd find me, Mister."

Ignoring Hanna completely, Vannessa grabbed Nick's hand and held it tight. Hanna puffed out his cheeks and furrowed his brow in a pout. Then he crossed the room to a corner and pushed down on several floorboards till one gave in.

"When we're going back downstairs, we need to be _extremely _quiet. Got it?"

Everyone nodded and Hanna pried open a small door, which happened to be a secret trap door, leading to a small set of stairs. Hanna went first, crawling through what seemed to be a space just big enough for him. He poked his head up after opening yet another door and smiled up at Nick.

"We'll come back around for you, since you won't fit through here. Sit tight, Grier."

Grier nodded and watched as Vannessa reluctantly crawled through the trapdoor. As hard as he tried, Grier couldn't hear the creaking of floorboards to signal their coming, but he made himself busy by shutting the trapdoor. He spun round when the door clicked open. Thankfully, it was only Hanna and Vannessa, the latter of whom sped forward and clung to the dead man's hand. Hanna held a finger to his pursed lips and everyone raced at once as silently as possible to get to the stairs. Hanna made it first to the narrow staircase, the Vannessa. Grier was delayed, unfortunately.

"Excuse me, sir, I think you forgot something."

It was Nathaniel. Grier's unbeating heart nearly burst into action when he heard the large clunk of the man's footsteps, only just dodging as one of those heavy boots barreled by his face. Grier jumped backwards, his back against the bannister. Hanna yelled out, and a pink light shot from nowhere. Nathaniel screamed, a shrill note filling the foul house. Grier siezed the distraction by kicking Nathaniel's stomach, so the gargoyle wouldn't have a chance to grab Grier as he jumped over the bannister, counting his blessings when he didn't fall through the ancient floor. A hissing shriek above filled everyone's ears, and Hanna darted out of the house, pulling both Grier and Vannessa out.

"Gargoyles can't leave their home until dark - it's not there yet, so we need to hurry the _hell _up."

Sara carried her child in her arms, but the two hadn't a moment to talk. They all raced desperately back to the apartment, the night at their back's, the wind in their ears, the shrieks in their minds. It wasn't until they were actually in front of door number 306 did everyone, except Vannessa, stop to catch their breath.

{...}

"Please, Mr. Cross, accept this pay."

Hanna smiled shakily as he waved Sara's money away. "I said I'd bring her back free of charge."

Sara didn't back down. "You brought her back, like you said you would. But you also brought her back okay. That is what I'll pay you for."

Hanna shook his head. "You should use that to start a new life together. I'd probably blow it on something stupid. Just promise me you'll visit, all right? I think Kirby really took a liking to you guys."

Sara looked slightly dishearted, but a smile decorated her face as Hanna handed her the black cloak and commedia mask she was wearing at the start of their little adventure. The woman took them with a smile and turned to Vannessa, who was staring at Kirby. "Anything you'd like to say to these wonderful people before we go, Nessa?"

The child didn't hesitate. She wrapped her arms around Kirby warmly, her head pressed into his stomach. The zombie smiled and patted her head, though he didn't quite understand why she liked him so much. Before Vannessa turned to leave, she glanced at Hanna, who smiled. She stuck her tongue out and pranced back to her mother, who giggled and took her hand. The two were down the stairs by the time Hanna tried to return the gesture.

"_Kids_..." He muttered to himself as he shut the door. The silence thereafter rang through the apartment. Hanna slumped his shoulders and collapsed onto the mattress. He was snoring obnoxiously, his face puckered like a fish's and occasionally twitching. Kirby could only wonder what the man was dreaming about. He could only hope it was something relaxing after such a hard case. Kirby slid to the ground, not far from the mattress, having no intent on taking a stroll that particular night. It must have been hours later, because Hanna stirred and sat looked up from the encyclopedia of monsters and up at Hanna, who was entirely visible because of the blue light that poured in from the flourescent lampost just outside. A worried look was plastered on his friend's face.

"What was your dream like, Claus?"

Claus thought for a moment. "I don't remember a lot of it...We were just in a room of mirrors, but everywhere I looked I only saw myself. There was only a tiny hole in one of the mirrors."

"Did it hurt, yanno, coming back up?"

"...I don't think so. About Nathaniel..."

Hanna's face relaxed and became utterly blank. "He was my dad's friend. Best man at my parent's wedding. I used to go to his house when I was bored."

"And borrow friends?"

"It doesn't matter." Hanna muttered as he folded a purple slip of paper to keep himself from meeting Claus's gaze. He set it down beside the mattress and laid back down. "Good night, Emery."

"Emery's not a boy's name, Hanna."

Hanna chuckled and covered himself in his thin blanket and turned over in the bed. "Yeah, whatever."

* * *

That's the end of Sara's 'case'! Although I'm sure that's not the last we'll see of Sara and Vanessa.

Hope you guys liked it!

Review!


	11. Humpty Dumpty : One

Just so you know, kids, I sort of edit the creatures that I use. For example, I don't think the Boo Hag drips smoke, but I figured just in case someone looked up the creature I should still be able to suprise you guys! But with this next case, I'll pretty much just be using the general points of this creature, since he's pretty rare...

Also, I'm sorry about the absence earlier. I'm pretty sure I'm back to updating daily now, until this Wednesday.

* * *

{January 8, 20XX}

Hanna and Johnny had decided, under much scrutiny from Worth and even Lamont (who happened to be there for the New Year's party) that they should take a vacation. It was a joint decision to take the doctor and Lamont's advice, even though both of them were thoroughly drunk at the time. People would still drop by the apartment, but Hanna would only offer them advice and sometimes even something he had laying around that would at least help them with their problem. Johnny kept a tally, and all in all, Hanna had given away a necklace to help with pixies, chocolate to get rid of goblins, along with a CD, a small bag of candy, and a box of old pancake mix to help with several other problems. Johnny had since stopped taking his nighttime walks because Worth told him that Hanna wasn't looking to good, and needed to be kept under surveillance for a week.

After a week came and went, with only a few nightmares, a collapse, and a nosebleed, Worth deemed Hanna 'un-vacationized' and the two had the doctor's go-ahead to take cases. They started out small, under Johnny's request, with things such as Spiderlings and lesser hags. As Hanna's sleep gradually became less and less disturbed, Johnny began to slowly take longer and longer walks, relieved to find Hanna exactly as he had left him. Johnny tried to come back early, to feed their pet roach Luce, to get breakfast started early enough so that Hanna could get to work and he could go with him. After the Gargoyle incident, Hanna didn't seem to happy to be walking around town on his own, even in daylight. While Johnny had no problem walking with Hanna, he couldn't help but wonder how many close calls there'd been before, and how he possibly got over them with just Worth and Lamont to help him.

Hanna had to work the night shift on January seventh, however, which would be a lot more complicated than walking him to work in solid afternoon daylight. Although their trek wouldn't even be in the direction of the house the gargoyle lived in, it certainly made the hair on both their necks stand up whenever a car sped past or a crow shrieked in the darkness. Johnny kept his hand on Hanna's shoulder, because whenever he let it slide off, Hanna would pick it back up and silently put it back over his shoulder. Several blocks later, when they had to wait for the light to change at a particularly busy part of the city, Hanna shouted out when he claimed something grabbed his ankle. Johnny looked all over, but found nothing just as the little white walking man appeared on the black box across the street. When finally the two found themselves in front of Target, Hanna seemed to be at ease, for the time being.

"You'll come at seven to walk home with me, won't you, Seamus?"

"Of course Hanna. We'll stop at Ihop."

As Hanna turned to the automatic doors to Target with a huge grin on his face, Seamus couldn't help but wonder if that was how a parent might have felt before watching a child go to school for the first time. As he walked back alone through the cold city, Seamus stopped at the corner at which Hanna had felt something, or someone, attack his ankle. Since he had nothing better to do, Seamus couldn't help but look around a little...He tried standing where Hanna had, and now that he didn't have to keep his hand on his friend's shoulder, he could reach for a flashlight and better inspect the area. Nothing in the curb, nothing behind the newspaper stands, nothing. Was it just Hanna's imagination? No sooner had that though come to Seamus's mind than something out of the corner of his eye darted from one shadow to another in the nearby alley.

Cautiously, Seamus let the spotlight slowly cover over each shadow, until it finally came to rest on a curled up young man shivering on the side of a building, his back to the fence, obviously too weak to climb over and escape the light. When it was obvious that a young child couldn't hurt him, Seamus flicked off the flashlight and cautiously took a step forward. Although Seamus could only see an outline, he could tell whoever it was protested his being close, so Seamus stayed where he was. He just decided to be blunt about it.

"Did _you _attack Hanna?"

"I didn't _attack _him...I need his help..."

"I can help you."

There was a moment of silence, and Seamus figured that this was the young man sizing him up. "Meet me in the cemetery at noon, don't be late, and _don't _tell Hanna."

Before Seamus could so much as respond, the creaking of a door in the alley assured him that the young man had fled, conveniently, just as a police car pulled up to the curb. An older officer stepped out, his black hair speckled with gray. He looked Seamus up and down, who silently wondered if his green skin was hidden by the darkness of an alleyway.

"We had a call about a shout in this area about twenty minutes ago...Did you have anything to do with it, sir?"

"I didn't."

"Right...What are you doing out at this time of night, anyway? What did you say your name was?"

"I was minding my own business...And it's Seamus."

"Well, _Seamus_," The officer said in a tone the zombie didn't quite appreciate while he wrote on a clipboard, "I think you should mind your business _elsewhere_."

* * *

Ohohoho, cliffhanger.

I hope you guys had a Happy New Years!

Review!


	12. Humpty Dumpty : Two

The new chapter's called, **In Which He Had a Great Fall**.

Or **Humpty Dumpty **for short. Because I totally forgot to tell you guys in the first chapter, HERP DERP.

**Summary**:  
With Hanna and ...'s steady recovery from Sara's traumatizing adventure comes a new problem. When ... takes up a case on his own, will it put his un-life in danger, as well as Conrad and Hanna?

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With the officer's eyes on his back, Seamus slowly stepped into the shadows, careful to keep his green skin masked with the darkness that crept along the sidewalk. He watched his feet below, keeping his head downwards as the police car made a sharp turn to a different street, off to bother some other hapless citizen. With nowhere to go and nothing to do, Seamus walked on in the cold January night, numb to the wind biting at his corpse. It wasn't until a snowflake fell on his eyelash that he realized not only had he been walking for quite some time, but the night had gone beyond biting cold. It was almost..._Desolate_. He had wandered into a residential part of town, and all was perfectly still, as though held in suspense. Not even a whisper crept through the empty street. The only moving thing on the entire block was the zombie, his outline the only moving shadow in the frigid night.

It was almost..._Too _frigid. It was as though the denizens were hiding, not daring to make a sound. With heavy eyes and delayed movement, Seamus loftily looked up as he reached a street corner, the bent sign overhead had been spray painted, years of abandonment chipping it's paint. Only just readable over his head, the words "Opposite Street" were cast across the sign, although Seamus doubted that was the street's real name. Just by looking at the houses, it was clear that it was not the most..._Clean _part of the neighborhood. A broken and rusted car rested in one yard, another with overgrown grass a haphazard fence and a washing machine out front. And still, Seamus felt...At home, although a sort of unidentifiable emotion crept into his stomach, mingling with the feeling of welcome. Was it curiosity? No, it was heavier than that. Happiness? ...What was there to be happy about? Seamus stood silently on the street corner, letting the stillness fill his ears.

The sound of metal grazing the conrete behind him gave him the answer - it was _Fear_. The doomed sense of being watched, the eyes shooting bullets into his back, throwing knives at his head, relentlessly deconstructing him. It was terribly unnerving, yet a terrible weight wouldn't let him turn. He couldn't even walk on, though he tried as hard as he could. Fear, strong and meaningless, gripped him, held him to the spot. A part of Seamus wanted to believe that whoever it was - or whatever it was - would just leave him, but as a fluorescent light flicked on overhead, it became painfully apparent that it couldn't be so. If Seamus had learned anything in his time with Hanna it was that, no matter how well you hid under your covers, no matter how fast or far you ran, the paranormal would catch up to you. The feeling in his gut told him it was paranormal, an enemy, and it was time to turn around and negotiate, for want of a better word.

However, Seamus had no time to turn. A hand on his shoulder took care of that chore for him. But when he was met with the face, the perpetrator, he was a little stunned. The unexpected weight that wrapped itself around his legs made his knees buckle, and it was a little..._Unfortunate_...That Seamus's head was met with a heavy, scratched, metal pole. As he lay on the ground, two small hands rifled his pockets, sending a small purple crane Hanna had folded after Sara's case tumbling onto the sidewalk. Seamus slowly reached out for it, but a leatehr shoe was quick to stomp it out.

**{...}**

**"Ugh..."**

The faint sound of fluttering could be heard as Seamus regained consciousness, his hands shaking as he lifted them to push what small bit of hair had fallen in his face. When his eyes adjusted to the flickering light a single, suspended light bulb cast on the room, he was a little surprised with the Déjà vu the room brought to him. The wallpaper was faded and curling, the small nearly colorless roses on it adding only melancholy to the room. As he got up from the chair he'd found himself sitting in, Seamus pulled the heavy wine-colored curtains that completely blocked the window. He was hardly suprised to find it entirely sealed with bricks. Stepping back and nearly tripping over his thin wooden chair, Seamus desperately tried to recall how he'd gotten to that place, what had led him there. Just as the creaking of floorboards behind him signalled a second presence, he remembered. A heavy, metal pole was in Nathaniel's hands as he rubbed a yellowed cloth over it absent-mindedly. It wasn't until Seamus completely turned around that he saw yet another person, one he had not made acquantence with on his last visit, almost completely shrouded in the shadow that a draping overhead gave him. His legs were visible, kicking back and forth, and so were the cards he shuffled in the most fantastic manner.

"You - You're..."

"The Gargoyle? Yes, but I'd prefer you call me Nathaniel, or Nate, if that's more comfortable for you..."

"Right..." Seamus passed a hand over his head, were the pipe had struck. He waved his free hand in the general direction of the half-hidden child. "And who's he?"

"Oh, him? His name's Mercutio. A friend I found cowering in a cemetery, not far from here actually..."

The cemetery? Why did that make Seamus anxious? He took a cautious step forward, happy to keep the current peace that filled the room. Nathaniel looked up at Seamus as he moved with his ominously colorless eyes.

"What did Mr. Cross call you? Grier?" Nathaniel waited in vain for confirmation. "Right...Well, _Grier_, allow me to share with you a well-established fact about Gargoyles. It's a little hard to follow, so I'd advise you pay attention. To retain a human shape, a Gargoyle must be bathed in light - Which can be painful, depending on how hungry one is...This is good for me, as I've just finished a meal..."

Nathaniel paused to cast a glance in Mercutio's direction, who had stopped shuffling his cards quite some time ago, as if hanging on to Nathaniel's every word. This gave Grier a moment to wonder what a Gargoyle actually ate.

"A Gargoyle, if you didn't know, sucks the light out of a human being. Usually, if the victim is lucky, there will be little noticable damage...Unfortunately, that was not the case earlier. You see, I hadn't eaten in quite some time, and Hanna happened to take the last of my food, so you can imagine my satisfaction when I found Mercutio, crouching behind a gravestone...I made a grave error, however, in taking almost all of his light."

Grier raised a brow and Nathaniel rolled his eyes and got to his feet. "I want you to find Mercutio's Light Doppelganger and bring him back here."

"Why should I do that?"

"It is a common misconception that light is the embodiment of all that is good...Mercutio's doppelganger has already claimed the lives of a few people, unable to keep his compulsion under control...I'd hate to see the same happen to Mr. Cross with my friend here, he's become a little _famished_."

Grier furrowed his brow and gritted his teeth, but Nathaniel only smiled. "This isn't a request. I happen to know you've already had contact with the doppelganger, so I'll leave it to you to bring him back here. Meet him at the cemetery on Swale Lane."

"To do _what_?" Grier was too busy eyeing the metal pipe to see Mercutio get to his feet, the shadow rising up off of him like smoke the more exposed to light he became. When Grier's eyes followed the movement, he could see a silhouette of a young man, his face twisted into a smile that wasn't at all of the happy sort. His voice was reminiscent to the sound of glass breaking, only rewound.

"To put _me _back together again."

After being politely shown the exit, Grier found himself with his back in a small pile of snow, and was quick to get up and out of it before it became water and soaked him through his jacket. After dusting the snow off, Grier didn't dare cast another glance at the abandoned home in which Nathaniel used to hold his victims until he was ready to kill them, or whatever sick thing he did before he feasted...He'd have to ask Hanna. When Grier realized he was supposed to pick up Hanna, he rolled up his sleeve to glance at a silver watch he'd gotten from Toni. Yes, he realized the irony in it. It was 6:30, and he was approximately nine blocks to Target.

**{...}**

Nine blocks, a steadily rising sun, three helpful citizens and a borrowed bike later, Grier found himself in front of Target, although he couldn't say so much for his record. Hanna had been sitting on a curb outside the building, his head in his hands. With a fleeting movement, Grier passed another look at his watch. 7:21. He ran towards Hanna, pulling the instantly-weightless bike behind him. At the screeching the bike made, Hanna looked up in surprise, his eyes heavy and half-closed.

"Fedot! Are you okay? You've never been late! N-not that offended or anything, I was just...Yanno, _worried_."

"Hanna, I ran into..." For only a second Fedot considered lying to his best friend, but he couldn't, even if it would probably help the redhead more than hurt him. "Nathaniel found me."

A look of fear flashed into Hanna's features with remarkable speed. "Did he...Have anyone with him?"

"Yes. He was alive - sort of."

Hanna ran a hand through his hair, but he seemed calm, as if he was thinking hard. "What did he tell you?"

Fedot hesitated. "He said...He'd leave us alone if we found Mercutio's doppelganger."

"Mercutio is the kid that was with him?"

Fedot nodded. Hanna sighed. "Gargoyles prefer kids, they've got a lighter mind and they're easier to draw out...We _have _to help that kid."

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Review, pretty please!

By the way - from here on out, chapters have expanded! I'm going to try to do 2000 words a story instead of the bite-sized 1000, though I'm gonna flake out on you guys this time and leave it to 1,700 something.


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